Dinner 2015 (Part 5)

[ElainaA]

 

Last night: Grilled steak, mashed potatoes topped with sauteed leeks and 'mushrooms Berkeley' from the Vegetarian Epicure. 

 

 Mushrooms, peppers and onions cooked for almost an hour in red wine, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

 

To quote the cookbook "they are very dark and evil looking but irresistible in flavor and aroma".  The author would probably be upset that I consider them one of the best accompaniments for steak ever. This cookbook always gives me flashbacks - It was a gift when it first came out (1972) and I was a recently out of college Teacher Corps intern sharing an apartment in northern Vermont with 2 other interns and beginning to learn how to cook. Our stipend was $60 a week. We were largely vegetarian not really due to ethics or philosophy but because beans and rice were cheap. It was Vermont in the early 1970's; therefore, it had to be brown rice. We learned to bake bread from the Tassajara Bread Book and ate a lot of homemade granola. It was a good time. I'm sure there are other good recipes in this book - but this is the one I come back to over and over.

[Anna N]

Must tell you, Elaine.

I chased this recipe down and have it on my "must make" list. I must agree that it looks evil but I also think with the ingredients I see listed it has to be quite delicious. Thank you for sharing.

[ninagluck]

quick and easy during the week, fig tart with red onion jam on the bottom, a little blue cheese, some walnuts and prosciutto

[ElainaA]

Must tell you, Elaine.

I chased this recipe down and have it on my "must make" list. I must agree that it looks evil but I also think with the ingredients I see listed it has to be quite delicious. Thank you for sharing.

It is delicious. Enjoy.

[FauxPas]

Another cool and rainy day, though we should be back to sun in a couple of days. In the meantime, I wanted something warm and fragrant and didn't feel a need for meat so went with Chana Masala (plus added some cauliflower I couldn't resist at the farm market). Basmati rice and mango chutney. It was fun pulling out some spices that I haven't used that much lately. 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I predicted dinner would be filet mignon, roast potatoes, broccolini, béarnaise.  For the second night it didn't happen.  I figured the, how shall I say, well aged beef was safely bagged and pasteurized so it might keep a bit.

 

Dinner was not prime, but lovely choice first cut grilled lamb rib, rosemary roast fingerling potatoes Voatsiperifery, broccolini, béarnaise Piment d'Espelette.  However so much I am fond of Voatsiperifery I am not sure I prefer it to plain old ordinary Tellicherry peppercorns.

 

But it is nice to have the choice.  I finished before 2:00 am.

 

Oh, and wine.

 

I wish I had some ice cream.

 

 

Edit:  the Amy's went to the food bank.

Edited September 24, 2015 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[ElainaA]

Jo - Too bad about the filet but I'd choose lamb over beef any day. The final dinner sounds great.

[liamsaunt]

 

DSC00266.jpg

 

Last night: Grilled steak, mashed potatoes topped with sauteed leeks and 'mushrooms Berkeley' from the Vegetarian Epicure. 

 

DSC00264.jpg

 Mushrooms, peppers and onions cooked for almost an hour in red wine, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

 

To quote the cookbook "they are very dark and evil looking but irresistible in flavor and aroma".  The author would probably be upset that I consider them one of the best accompaniments for steak ever. This cookbook always gives me flashbacks - It was a gift when it first came out (1972) and I was a recently out of college Teacher Corps intern sharing an apartment in northern Vermont with 2 other interns and beginning to learn how to cook. Our stipend was $60 a week. We were largely vegetarian not really due to ethics or philosophy but because beans and rice were cheap. It was Vermont in the early 1970's; therefore, it had to be brown rice. We learned to bake bread from the Tassajara Bread Book and ate a lot of homemade granola. It was a good time. I'm sure there are other good recipes in this book - but this is the one I come back to over and over.

 

Ha, the Vegetarian Epicure was one of my fallback cookbooks in college too, 20 years after you.  I still have it.  I always mark off recipes in books after I cook them so I will have to look and see if I ever made these mushrooms.  They do look delicious!  The corn and cheddar chowder in that book is still my favorite corn chowder recipe, though I use chicken stock now, and omit the nutritional yeast.

[kayb]

 

DSC00266.jpg

 

Last night: Grilled steak, mashed potatoes topped with sauteed leeks and 'mushrooms Berkeley' from the Vegetarian Epicure. 

 

DSC00264.jpg

 Mushrooms, peppers and onions cooked for almost an hour in red wine, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

 

To quote the cookbook "they are very dark and evil looking but irresistible in flavor and aroma".  The author would probably be upset that I consider them one of the best accompaniments for steak ever. This cookbook always gives me flashbacks - It was a gift when it first came out (1972) and I was a recently out of college Teacher Corps intern sharing an apartment in northern Vermont with 2 other interns and beginning to learn how to cook. Our stipend was $60 a week. We were largely vegetarian not really due to ethics or philosophy but because beans and rice were cheap. It was Vermont in the early 1970's; therefore, it had to be brown rice. We learned to bake bread from the Tassajara Bread Book and ate a lot of homemade granola. It was a good time. I'm sure there are other good recipes in this book - but this is the one I come back to over and over.

 

Dear sweet Baby Jesus. Those are the most delectable looking things I've ever seen. In search of recipe, immediately. I have 'shrooms in the fridge.

 

Very little cooking this week. I did hamburger steaks with caramelized onions and crumbled blue cheese on top, with potato salad, one night.

 

 

Thanks, rotuts, for the wine cork tip!

 

 

Ratatouille last night. Not half bad.

 

 

Big culinary experience coming up this weekend -- will be heading to Nashville to meet our own Cyalexa, and have dinner with her at the Catbird Seat! Excited!

[ElainaA]

Dear sweet Baby Jesus. Those are the most delectable looking things I've ever seen. In search of recipe, immediately. I have 'shrooms in the fridge.

 

 

Just google 'mushrooms Berkeley" - the recipe is available on line. Be sure you get the one from Anna Thomas' Vegetarian Epicure -lots of red wine, brown sugar, etc. -  I found a different recipe also under that name that looked like a wimpy wannabe.

[kayb]

Just google 'mushrooms Berkeley" - the recipe is available on line. Be sure you get the one from Anna Thomas' Vegetarian Epicure -lots of red wine, brown sugar, etc. -  I found a different recipe also under that name that looked like a wimpy wannabe.

 

Got it. As I loathe bell peppers, I'm figuring I'll use some sweet banana peppers, red and green, instead. Think that will work?

[rotuts]

"""   I loathe bell peppers """

 

clear thinking right there !

[ElainaA]

Got it. As I loathe bell peppers, I'm figuring I'll use some sweet banana peppers, red and green, instead. Think that will work?

I don't see why not.  I use whatever I have around - red, green or yellow - I like a mix although after all the cooking time everything does look basically dark. I really like peppers so I often increase the amount. In fact, I use peppers so much I'm probably using up all the ones that you and Rotus reject. 

Edited September 24, 2015 by ElainaA (log)

[huiray]

After lunch yesterday I couldn't help myself from swinging by Saraga International Grocery. Picked up beautiful "Kingfish"** chops and a big bunch of nice edible amaranth, the more common red-green not-as-large-leaved variety (plus a few other things).

** Not entirely sure which one this is; the raw flesh was pretty reddish.

 

So dinner was:

 

"Kingfish" steaks, done in a riff on a simple Bravanese recipe.

I used recipe#2 with modifications. The Kingfish steaks I had were also thicker.

(Red & yellow onions, finely chopped, lots. Sesame + rice bran oil. Minced garlic. Half a shrimp stock cube. Water, bring to a simmer. Add fish steaks, cook, turning 1-2 times. Black pepper, lots. "Aged gourmet" rice vinegar, 2-3 second full pour.)

 

Edible amaranth.

Trimmed, soaked/washed, "stir-fried"/pan-cooked with peanut oil, garlic, some garam masala (commercial mix) & powdered cumin, sea salt. The red pigment bleeds (as is normal) into the liquids released from the vegetable.

 

White rice.

 

 

 

Pic of the raw amaranth.

Compare with another variety shown in this other post (scroll down).

Edited September 24, 2015 by huiray (log)

[patrickamory]

FauxPas please tell us more about the chana masala with cauliflower.

[Dave W]

ElainaA I can't imagine that the author of the vegetarian epicure could take huge offense at serving these gorgeous mushrooms with steak considering that the Worcestershire sauce contains anchovy...

No photos tonight but I grilled some boneless skinless chicken breasts with a day of marinading in vindaloo spices-yogurt-lemon-garlic-ginger.

The chicken was fine but took a MAJOR backseat to a creamed patak I whipped up with cumin seed turmeric and cayenne, onion garlic ginger and green Chilis then frozen chopped spinach and kale blend. Generous sour cream, garam masala, and lemon juice to finish.

It's amazing when veggie sides greatly outshine the protein, on the plate tonight the chicken was a side to the greens for sure.

[FauxPas]

FauxPas please tell us more about the chana masala with cauliflower.

Smitten Kitchen has a decent recipe - based on Madhur Jaffrey's. I used some fresh tomatoes that were steam-roasted and peeled. Had some cooked chickpeas in the freezer. I thought about using the cauliflower to make Aloo Gobi and maybe skip the rice but instead threw some chopped cauliflower in with the masala.

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/02/chana-masala/

Edited September 25, 2015 by FauxPas (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Dinner was supposed to have been chicken mechoui (Paula Wolfert).  But the baguette came out of the oven a bit before midnight, and I knew the chicken was not going to happen.  Instead dinner was a repeat of last night but with the baguette in place of roast potatoes.  And if I may say so the lamb was even better.

 

As a digestive a generous glass of Jade 1901.  Neat.  Water is for wimps.  If it wants to louche it can louche in my tummy.

 

 

 

Edgar Degas, Wikipedia, public domain

[ElsieD]

DSC00266.jpg

Last night: Grilled steak, mashed potatoes topped with sauteed leeks and 'mushrooms Berkeley' from the Vegetarian Epicure.

DSC00264.jpg

Mushrooms, peppers and onions cooked for almost an hour in red wine, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

To quote the cookbook "they are very dark and evil looking but irresistible in flavor and aroma". The author would probably be upset that I consider them one of the best accompaniments for steak ever. This cookbook always gives me flashbacks - It was a gift when it first came out (1972) and I was a recently out of college Teacher Corps intern sharing an apartment in northern Vermont with 2 other interns and beginning to learn how to cook. Our stipend was $60 a week. We were largely vegetarian not really due to ethics or philosophy but because beans and rice were cheap. It was Vermont in the early 1970's; therefore, it had to be brown rice. We learned to bake bread from the Tassajara Bread Book and ate a lot of homemade granola. It was a good time. I'm sure there are other good recipes in this book - but this is the one I come back to over and over.

I just HAD to make this "very dark and evil looking" dish so I googled the recipe, picked up the mushrooms and peppers and made it last night. We had it with pork chops. There are just two of us and we ate the lot. Absolutely delicious. Thank you, ElainaA! Edited September 25, 2015 by ElsieD (log)

[huiray]

Fried rice.

Very hot oil in very hot pan, shrimp; toss & remove/reserved after maybe 15 seconds. No deglazing; chopped scallions, broccoli florets, salt, eggs scrambled in situ, rice, reserved shrimp, more chopped scallions. Eat.

Edited September 25, 2015 by huiray (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Shrimp scampi, pictured before adding the pasta.

 

 

 

An old favorite that is not especially photogenic - boudin noir (blood sausage). My kind of comfort food.

 

 

 

Suzanne Goin's triple pork burgers (ground pork, chorizo, bacon) with manchego, arugula, aioli, from Lucques.

 

 

 

Rock fish with onion soubise and wilted leeks in beurre blanc, loosely based on a recipe in the AOC cookbook.

 

Edited September 25, 2015 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[BonVivant]

I ate a sheep's head, yes I did.

 

First pic is spit-roasted together with chickens. Second pic is pot-roasted over wood fire. Seen here from enough of a distance so you don't have to see the bits (which I removed right after the photo was taken).

 

Food like this is very normal in Albania (where I am visiting at the moment). Btw, I was supposed to eat it with my bare hands but I had no problems using a knife and fork to extract the bits.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2015 by BonVivant (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Finally.  Tonight is chicken mechoui, Paula Wolfert Food of Morocco p315.  The meat is resting and so am I.  Finishing my mai tai, actually.  It is 12:50 am.

 

Chicken mechoui is part of my regular menu rotation but every time I wonder at the masochism.  After trussing the chicken and mounting it on the spit the final steps are wiping the counter down with bleach and a hot shower for the cook.  Typical for a Paula Wolfert recipe. 

 

The chicken is a lovely local bird from a farm a couple miles away.  I am serving it with half of last night's baguette and a whole bunch of my tomatoes.  With, less traditionally, wine.  Lots of wine.  No okra.

Edited September 26, 2015 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Last time I posted in this thread, I planned to have pizza and steak in the same meal for the first time in my life, and for the second time in my life in the same day. They're my favorite foods, but like the best laid plans, it didn't happen. It's actually a good thing, because even though DH ate his whole pizza, I had two slices left.

 

The husband didn't get home until after dark the next day, so we had pizza in the oven with the some of the gargantuan bell pepper, Vidalia onion and pepperoni. The crust was the same batch I used in Kenji's stovetop skillet pizza, but I liked it this time. I was tender and tasty as usual.

 

The next day, I fired up the charcoal grill before dark and cooked the 1.27 pound, 1-1/2" thick slice of rib eye along with the rest of the monster bell pepper, thick slices of Vidalia, a couple halved Roma tomatoes and some okra pods on the grill ala Marcella. I also boiled some dry commercial egg noodles inside at the same time, running back and forth. This was a very good meal, especially the grilled veggies. I wished for some eggplant and zucchini, both of which shine in this prep, but we'd have had even more leftovers. I lost one of the most desirable baby okra and a few of the smaller inner rings of Vidalia through the grill to the coals. My onion slices came apart even though I tried hard for that not to happen. 

 

My husband who is not usually a big veggie fan scarfed his grilled veggies down. The steak was tough again for rib eye but very flavorful. Disappointing to both of us in the toughness, but not flavor. I have another like it in the freezer. We had leftover steak at this meal.

 

So today was steak, egg and cheese on cathead parsley and rosemary biscuits with homefries and North Carolina watermelon. For those not conversant in Southern-speak, a cathead biscuit is simply a delicious biscuit as big as a cat's head. In my home, the cat would be a a very large one.

 

The steak was much more palatable after I chilled it and cut it as thin as possible across the grain with my trusty razor-sharp fillet knife. I did not heat the steak other than taking it out of the fridge, slicing, rewrapping, letting it warm at room temp and piling it on the hot biscuits with molten cheese and egg.

 

I rendered some beef fat over very low fat in the egg skillet for a long time while doing the other prep. When I got ready to cook the eggs, I turned up the heat and added a little butter. The crunchy beef bacon was removed and snarfed up by yours truly as cook's treat, and Wow! Sometimes I give the coons beef fat trim. This was so good.

 

I considered cheddar cheese, but I like moz or muenster with steak because it lets the beef flavor bloom better. I only had moz, so that was it, taken out way before the cook, thinly sliced and wrapped in a single layer so it warmed up before being placed on the eggs during the cook. I like to make sure the melted cheese on top of the eggs goes down on the cut biscuit surface, so it melds there instead of squishing out between egg or meat.

 

I used 2-1/2 cups flour which usually gets me 8 cathead biscuits, but for reasons known only to the kitchen gods, I got only 7 today. I was using my usual ice cream scoop method, so I have not a clue why. (Kitchen Scale Manifesto?) They came out really, really good.

 

What I call homefries are different from what some folks call them. I've seen the term applied to crosswise-sliced fried potatoes. Those are cottage fries to me, and what my dad preferred. Some people call parcooked grated potatoes that are then fried "homefries". These are hashbrowns to a lot of folks. To me, homefries are 1/2" diced raw potatoes fried in a little oil until very crispy on all sides. In order to get tender inside, there's time to brown the outside. The key to them is to line a bowl with layers of cheap paper towels, scoop the taters in with a slotted implement, season with salt and a little pepper, then roll and toss in the paper. This results in crispy, grease-free, deliciousness.

 

Lots of restaurants in our neck of the woods offer them, but all I'm aware of are pretty bad. In a restaurant setting, it's not cost effective to cook potatoes from raw for 20 or 30 minutes until crispy and tender like they need to be. They boil them and then try (the operative word) to brown them within their constraints. They make no attempt to drain the grease which has been absorbed by the boiled, soft potatoes. That's OK. I know how to make them correctly.

 

Lastly, the watermelon may very well be the last of the season for us. If so, it is a very worthy specimen. It's the most seedless "seedless" watermelon I have ever laid eyes on. No nascent brown seeds anywhere, and only a few sesame seed-sized white ones. Interestingly there were lots of empty holes where seeds would have been. It was one of those thin-rinded ones you run across rarely. The center core was mealy, flaky, fall-apart-under-the-pressure-of-the-knife sweet. Many of the flakes that fell off went to cook's treat. 

[ChrisTaylor]

Inspired by Jo I turned to Paula Wolfert's roast chicken recipe, although I kinda went off on a tangent. I lost the whole bird in favour of drumsticks. I added some more herbs (dill, thyme) and a dog-turd-swirl of harissa paste to the spiced butter. Came out alright, though, even though it ain't Paula's.